Spoiled Milk and Rekindlings
by Naotoki Yamanouchi
Summary: A craving for milk places Aiolia in a situation he never dreamed he would be in. Aiolia and Shura friendship fic, no shounen-ai, sorry.


A/N: This is a tie-in to my _Guilty Treasures _chapter from The Gold Saint Birthday Collection. You'll still be able to follow this story if you haven't read _Guilty Treasures_, but you'll probably understand it better if you did. The time-frame is set within the timeline established in Episode G, somewhere in between the original series and Episode G. You'll see what I mean as you read it. Enjoy.

Aiolia wanted milk. He wasn't sure where the craving came from, as he had never been a big dairy drinker. He had been especially disgusted by the stuff after Aiolos's betrayal because his brother had been an avid consumer of dairy products, constantly insisting Aiolia drink his milk to grow up "big and strong". He wasn't even sure he had milk in his tiny refrigerator, but he none-the-less trudged over to it to survey the contents.

He peered inside and found a half-used carton of milk. Slowly, he eased it out of the fridge as though it would kill him if he got too close to it. Holding it away from his body, he opened it and almost immediately fought the urge to throw up as the poignant odor invaded his nostrils. Well, so much for that idea… he eyed the expiration date on the carton. July 12th,, 1981...The date was now the twelfth of January, 1982. The milk was exactly six months past its expiration and was likely growing life forms in the container.

On a positive note, his craving for milk was gone.

Aiolia tossed the carton into the trash and frowned. What would he do now? They had a meeting with the Pope in an hour, so he couldn't really go train. If the other saints hadn't been so terribly troubled by his existence when he was younger, he would have stopped by and wished Shura a happy birthday, but he had cut off contact with Shura years ago. Aiolia frowned-did Shura know about the meeting?

He clenched his fists. Shura. There had been a time when he and Shura had been quite close. After Aiolos's death, he and the Capricorn saint had found comfort in each other. Both of them had grieved the loss of the Sagittarius saint. Their falling-out had been his own fault, too. When the others had started to treat Aiolia as an outcast for being a traitor's younger brother, he had broken off contact with Shura to avoid Shura being outcasted, too. Shura had assumed Aiolia had broken the contact because he had been the one to kill Aiolos and had not attempted to reconcile things. Aiolia felt guilty for doing that to him, but he had been certain at the time that his decision had been for Shura's own good.

Now he wasn't so sure. Most of his fellow gold saints respected him and a few had even befriended him. He wasn't a complete outcast anymore. His actions no longer seemed justified.

He sighed and trudged out of Leo temple, up towards Virgo. He knew this was something he had to do.

Shaka gave him a serene smile as he passed through Virgo, and even offered him some tea. Aiolia turned down the offer as politely as he could and continued on his way.

Libra was empty.

In Scorpio, Milo was trying to wrestle some book out of Camus's hands and failing spectacularly. Both saints stopped their playful fighting and looked at him. Milo flashed a warm smile and offered words: "Hey, Aiolia", while Camus nodded to acknowledge him. Aiolia waved to them and slowly trudged towards the next temple.

Sagittarius.

Almost immediately, he felt the pressure in his chest and the sting of tears burning his eyes. He had so many fond memories of this temple. Such as the time he had been sick with a fever and had gone to Sagittarius temple looking for his brother, but Aiolos had not been home. He had fallen asleep in the middle of the entrance way and woke up in Aiolos's bed, Aiolos himself dabbing a wet wash cloth against his forehead with concern in his green eyes, and a tray containing chicken soup and hot tea sitting beside him.

He recalled to mind sitting in Sagittarius temple until late at night, listening to Aiolos read him stories. He almost always fell asleep in there, and, most of the time, his brother carried him back to Leo temple and he would wake up in his own room. However, there were times when he'd be permitted to sleep in Sagittarius temple, and he'd wake up either covered with a blanket on the floor or in Aiolos's bed, depending if it was cold or not outside. He and his brother would eat pastries together for breakfast at a tiny wooden table. The table they used to eat off of was still untouched, still tucked in its corner where they could see the entrance way just in case their breakfast needed to be interrupted.

Heart beating furiously, Aiolia walked into a room that almost felt forbidden. His brother's bedroom. His eyes fell on a badly crafted wooden airplane on top of Aiolos's clothing chest. He had made that for Aiolos ages ago and had been pleasantly shocked to discover his brother had been truthful when he said he was keeping it. He swallowed hard, fighting against the tears that were welling in his eyes. The whole room carried his brother's warm scent and he found he couldn't bear to be there anymore. How had kind-hearted Aiolos turn into a traitor? He'd always accepted what he'd been told in the past, but now found himself wondering if there was more to the story.

He hurried out of the temple and rushed into Capricorn.

Shura was no where to be seen, but Aiolia thought he could hear him in his bedroom. The door was slightly ajar, so Aiolia shoved it open to get a better look inside. The Capricorn saint had been kneeling, but he was quick to hop to his feet at the sound of Aiolia opening the door. His eyes were slightly puffy, as though he'd been crying, and the floor was littered with children's toys, a book, and what appeared to be a long-dried-out rose.

Shura's eyebrow lifted.

"Haven't you learned-"

"That it's unmannerly to go traipsing through the homes of others unannounced?", Aiolia cut him off. "Shaka's told me."

Aiolia took a few steps towards Shura, and Shura's dark eyes closed as his face twisted into a grimace. Aiolia just knew Shura was having heart failure because his muddy boots were tracking dirt all across the floor.

"What is all this stuff?", Aiolia asked. "This has got to be the messiest I have ever seen your place."

"What brings you here, Aiolia?", Shura asked.

The Leo saint shrugged his broad shoulders and knelt down to survey the toys and stuff scattered across the floor.

Shura sighed.

"Alright", Aiolia said. "The Pope asked me to tell you there's a meeting tonight."

That was a lie, but he still felt a little embarrassed admitting he came on his own accord.

"I guess I'll be going then."

Shura's rejection hurt, but Aiolia stood up and stretched as though it didn't. After all, he had been the one to break off their friendship in the first place.

"You don't have to leave if you don't want to", Shura told him.

"Why would you want me around? I'm the little brother of Sanctuary's biggest traitor", Aiolia spat.

If Shura was surprised by the venom of Aiolia's words, he didn't show it.

"You're the little brother and I'm the best friend. What a pair we make."

Aiolia stared at him.

"You're the one who killed him. People trust you."

Shura swallowed hard.

"Actually, quite the opposite is true, Aiolia. People don't take kindly to those who willingly murder their closest friends, order or no."

Aiolia frowned as Shura's features took on a far-away gaze. The Capricorn saint appeared to be a thousand miles away in thought. Then, to the Leo saint's absolute horror, tears started to leak from Shura's dark eyes and down his tanned face.

"You're crying, Shura."

Shura hastily wiped the tears away.

"I have no reason to cry", he replied.

"You lie like a rug", Aiolia answered back.

"Rugs don't lie, they lay. You don't lie a rug down, you lay it down", Shura told him.

He retreated into his bathroom and came back with a mop and bucket, cleaning the mud off the floor.

"Yike...don't mope me!", Aiolia screamed as Shura ran the mop over his filthy boots.

"Your boots are _dirtier_ than the floor", Shura retorted, wringing out the mop.

Aiolia shook his head.

"And you were best friends with my brother...how did you guys not kill each other?"

"I stayed out of his temple as much as possible"

Aiolia picked up a paddle ball off the floor and absently started playing with it. Shura tried not to laugh when he smacked himself in the face with it.

Aiolia gave him a sheepish smile.

The sound of footsteps distracted them from their conversation. Camus and Aphrodite, on their way to the meeting.

"I guess it's time to leave", Shura said, pulling Aiolia to his feet.

"I guess so", Aiolia replied.

Shura picked up the toys, book, and flower from the floor and packed them into a box.

"Don't worry. Your secret's safe with me", Aiolia told him.

"Thank you", Shura replied.

They walked in silence together towards the meeting hall. When they arrived, they took their respective places in line and waited for the Pope. The meeting was relatively quick and painless, less than an hour. Once it was over, Aiolia rushed to Shura's side. He wouldn't be a coward about this any longer.

"Hey, Shura. Want to come back to my temple for a little while?"

The Capricorn saint looked at him in shock.

"That sounds nice", he finally accepted.

Fifteen minutes later found the two young men sitting across from each other at Aiolia's table, Shura staring at all the junk food that was laid out.

"You didn't strike me as much of a junk-food eater", he stated.

Aiolia shrugged his broad shoulders.

"I'm still seventeen, Shura. I like to indulge once in a while."

The Leo saint got up from his seat and retreated to the kitchen. He returned with two cans of beer.

Shura lifted an eyebrow at him.

"Isn't the legal drinking age in Greece eighteen?"

Aiolia shrugged again.

"Probably. No one's ever questioned me about it before. I guess I look older than my age, or they just don't care."

He pushed one of the cans towards Shura. Shura accepted it, but didn't open it. He simply sat there staring at it, rolling it around in his hands.

"I don't know how you manage to live next door to Sagittarius temple. I went in there today and the memories almost drove me crazy", Aiolia murmured as he reclaimed his seat.

Shura tugged on Aiolia's golden hair.

"Because you tried too hard to separate yourself from your brother."

Aiolia blushed, remembering his years of dying his hair red.

"And you haven't tried to forget?"

Shura shook his head.

"Actually, those toys on the floor…most of them were things your brother gave me during our childhood."

The older man's face bore very little emotion, but Aiolia saw his shaking hand clench the beer can just a little more tightly.

Aiolia reached out a hand and placed it over Shura's.

"You're not coping well, either", he said softly. "You might not be trying to forget, but you're definitely trying to hold your feelings inside. That's no healthier than what I was doing."

Shura stared down at his shaking hand.

"I suppose not."

"So, whatever you've been holding in…let it out."

Aiolia let go of Shura's hand and stared at the Capricorn saint expectantly.

Shura sat there silently for a few minutes, rolling the beer can around in his hands. Aiolia was about to give up on making him open up and express his feelings, when the Capricorn saint whispered a sentence that made Aiolia's heart leap.

"Even though I got credit for killing Aiolos, the truth is, I didn't. Not the way everyone made it seem."

For the second time that night, Aiolia witnessed tears flowing down Shura's cheeks.

"The Pope sent me after Aiolos, but I had no intention of killing him. I knew I couldn't, so instead I aimed for his legs. He'd always been quick, if his legs were cut, he wouldn't of been able to run and I could have brought him back alive. However, he seemed to know what I was planning and where I was aiming Excalibur. He threw himself right into my attack…that's what killed him."

Aiolia's face split into a grin, even though he knew he shouldn't of been smiling when Shura was so clearly upset. The knowledge that the man before him had not intentionally killed his brother, that tiny glimmer of truth, excited him too much.

Shura covered his face with his hands to hide the sobs that wracked his shoulders. Aiolia allowed him to do so without fussing over him or doing anything that would embarrass him.

Once Shura had composed himself, Aiolia handed him some tissues.

"Feel better now?", the Leo saint asked.

"Actually, yes", Shura admitted.

The Capricorn saint smiled a rare smile.

"Knock knock. Can we come in?"

Aiolia turned towards the sound of Milo's voice.

"Yeah, come on in."

Shura stood to take his leave as Milo entered, somehow managing to drag Camus with him and carry pizza boxes at the same time.

Milo's eyes widened in shock and then his face split into a huge, warm smile.

"Shura! How good to see you!"

"Hello, Milo. Camus", Shura greeted.

Aiolia cleaned off the table so Milo could set the pizza boxes down and got some plates.

"Would you like to eat with us, Shura?"

"Yeah, we have plenty of pizza", Milo added.

Shura shook his head, a small smile still playing on his lips.

"Thank you, but I must get going. I will see you later, Aiolia."

Aiolia watched him go, his own smile on his face.

What had started as a craving for milk had ended in a rekindled friendship.

It was funny how things worked out.


End file.
